W was in town yesterday for the VFW Schmooze Fest. His motorcade left the Plaza for Riverside (about 10 miles) in the middle of Wednesday Morning Rush Hour, tying up traffic around downtown, all for.....a biscuit!

Wonder how much that little biscuit jaunt cost the taxpayers. Story here from KC Star Columnist Mike Hendricks:

This lame-duck business isn’t all bad, as President Bush might tell you.

Because he needn’t worry about being re-elected, he can thumb his nose at Congress, press on with an unpopular war … and now tick off tens of thousands of commuters because he hankers to have breakfast across town.

What a nightmare that was — and I’m not just talking about the last seven years in the White House.

At the height of rush hour Wednesday morning, the interstates into downtown Kansas City were backed up. The parkways were backed up.

And with all those folks stuck in traffic, there probably were some personal backups that many can only imagine and others will not soon forget.

But for the historical record, it went down like this:

After staying Tuesday night at the Intercontinental Hotel on the Country Club Plaza, Bush and his motorcade left for breakfast about 7:50 a.m. The 30-vehicle caravan made up of cop cars, ambulances and Secret Service vehicles drove through the Plaza, onto Southwest Trafficway, past downtown Kansas City and across the Muddy Mo to Riverside.

As a security precaution, dozens of streets were shut down. So were the interstates, including I-670, which was already being closed for bridge painting.

The predictable result: Gridlock so bad truck drivers were staking tents in the highway medians. The guy from Tony’s House of Sausage applied for a permit to set up a stand at the I-35 ramp to Cambridge Circle.

Awful, that’s what it was.

Not that I’m taking it personal. Why shouldn’t my bus ride into town take 45 minutes longer than usual so that the president’s motorcade can travel from a hotel on the Plaza all the way to Riverside — during the morning rush — so he can break bread with the likes of George Brett, Carl Peterson and other big shots?

He’s the leader of the free world, right? All I am is a hapless voter.

But you gotta wonder: Couldn’t Carl or George have ordered up some breakfast burritos and had the prez over to one of their haciendas?

Last I heard, Peterson lived only a few blocks from the Intercontinental.

And Brett, he’s just over in Mission Hills. Hey, if nothing else, they could have all met at Starbucks on the Plaza. Winstead’s sets a nice table, I hear.

All would have been closer than the Corner Cafe in Riverside.

Lucky for Riverside, yes. But how many Kansas Citians were late to work because of all this? How many deadlines were missed? And according to the cafe owner, Ed Rule, all the president had to eat was one measly biscuit.

Next time you stay in town overnight, Mr. President — and please don’t consider this a warm invitation — do us all a favor. Pick a hotel closer to your destination.

You were here to address the VFW convention at Bartle Hall. Well, guess what? There are some perfectly good hotels that are near Bartle Hall and probably even serve breakfast.

One of them is even called the President, and it has a “presidential suite.”

Get it? President Hotel and you’re the president.

Oh, well, maybe this is what comes of having Karl Rove leave the White House. He was the one who supposedly had the brain.

HonestChieffan

08-23-2007, 09:30 AM

slow day for Mike

StcChief

08-23-2007, 11:20 AM

key is to know where he is and stay away from that area? downtown and back to airport.

Cochise

08-23-2007, 11:22 AM

Clinton used to do that all the time too.

Good thing he didn't have a gay father who was into body piercing, then he'd really be in trouble with gblowfish

Nightwish

08-23-2007, 11:38 AM

As much as I can't stand Bush, I have to agree with some of the others, this isn't newsworthy. No matter what city, no matter for what reason, no matter where he goes in the city, there will be traffic tie-ups and annoying diversions. It's a fact of life.

gblowfish

08-23-2007, 12:37 PM

Clinton used to do that all the time too.

Good thing he didn't have a gay father who was into body piercing, then he'd really be in trouble with gblowfish

I dunno...
Anybody checked Bush 41 for nipple rings lately?

dirk digler

08-23-2007, 12:42 PM

You will like this gblowfish.

The City or the President should pay this. What a bunch of bullshit.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Towed and ticketed, several people on the Country Club Plaza are griping about President Bush's visit to the metro.

The president's motorcade made many in the metro smile Wednesday, as he was seen breakfasting with dignitaries and made a speech at the VFW convention.

Bill Cary was not among them, but it had nothing to do with politics.

"What angered me was the fact that I didn't have any notice," said Cary.

He is angry because at midnight Wednesday morning, the city towed his car because it was parked in front of his Plaza apartment on Roanoke Parkway. The problem was that the president's motorcade used Roanoke Parkway. As a result, so for security reasons, police made it an emergency no-parking zone and towed several cars overnight – including Bill's.

"I thought it was stolen," said Cary.

Wednesday morning, on his way to work, Cary said, he and several other unaware neighbors were forced to pay $145 to retrieve their cars from tow lots.

Adding insult to injury, Cary got a $38 ticket for parking in a no-parking zone.

"We park here everyday," Cary said. "It would have been easy to put up a notice saying you have 24 hours to remove your vehicle… We had no notice at all. My car was ticketed right after midnight and towed minutes after the ticket was written."

The city did not return our phone calls seeking comment, Cary said he is hoping in the spirit of the presidential visit the city will offer pardons for parking offenders.

"I would like to have the city reimburse people the towing expense and waive the ticket," he said.

Again, the city did not return our phone calls therefore it is unclear how many cars were towed.

Nightwish

08-23-2007, 12:54 PM

You will like this gblowfish.

The City or the President should pay this. What a bunch of bullshit.
If indeed there was no notice given (as opposed to Mr. Cary et al. simply not realizing it) that is BS, and the city should waive those fines.

Pitt Gorilla

08-23-2007, 01:03 PM

It's hard to fault the President here. I mean, I would try to not disrupt things, but if I want some burnt ends and beans, we're going to go get them, motorcade and all.

Programmer

08-23-2007, 01:13 PM

You will like this gblowfish.

The City or the President should pay this. What a bunch of bullshit.
The fact that the President of the U.S. does not announce his every move does not seem improper to me. When Kennedy went to Dallas they mapped out the whole route. We saw what happened that day. No President needs to give advance warning that they are going to get Biscuits at 10:30am on the 23rd of August at 4th and Main. Besides the obvious people who really needs to know when and where the President is going?

Nightwish

08-23-2007, 01:27 PM

The fact that the President of the U.S. does not announce his every move does not seem improper to me. When Kennedy went to Dallas they mapped out the whole route. We saw what happened that day. No President needs to give advance warning that they are going to get Biscuits at 10:30am on the 23rd of August at 4th and Main. Besides the obvious people who really needs to know when and where the President is going?
Dirk's post wasn't so much about whether the President gave advance warning, it was about whether owners should have to pay unreasonable amounts of money to retrieve vehicles that were towed without notice from otherwise legal parking spaces along a route that was not part of the planned route. If there is anybody at fault in that, it would be the city.

Programmer

08-23-2007, 01:36 PM

Dirk's post wasn't so much about whether the President gave advance warning, it was about whether owners should have to pay unreasonable amounts of money to retrieve vehicles that were towed without notice from otherwise legal parking spaces along a route that was not part of the planned route. If there is anybody at fault in that, it would be the city.

I did understand that, in the post there was a comment that they might have given them 24 hours notice to clear the streets. That is the issue I was attempting to address, unsuccessfully I see.

dirk digler

08-23-2007, 02:13 PM

Dirk's post wasn't so much about whether the President gave advance warning, it was about whether owners should have to pay unreasonable amounts of money to retrieve vehicles that were towed without notice from otherwise legal parking spaces along a route that was not part of the planned route. If there is anybody at fault in that, it would be the city.

Yep exactly.

The city is liable here IMHO.

dirk digler

08-23-2007, 02:14 PM

I did understand that, in the post there was a comment that they might have given them 24 hours notice to clear the streets. That is the issue I was attempting to address, unsuccessfully I see.

There was no notice. He said the city should have given them 24 hour notice but I understand why they didn't. All the same they shouldn't charge people for towing + fines for parking legally. It is BS.

|Zach|

08-23-2007, 02:36 PM

He dined at the River Club, nice place...pretty exclusive...I almost got a job there but I didn't like their setup.

Radar Chief

08-23-2007, 03:03 PM

It's hard to fault the President here. I mean, I would try to not disrupt things, but if I want some burnt ends and beans, we're going to go get them, motorcade and all.

I know. Courtesy is good and all, but this is Kansas City, and we’re talking BBQ here. I mean, come on.